rust Posted October 15, 2010 Share Posted October 15, 2010 The setting I am currently working on will have a number of characters, mostly engineers and scientists, who learned a basic engineering or science skill and la- ter specialized in an advanced field of that skill. An example could be an engineer who started as a construction engineer and la- ter got advanced training as a habitat systems engineer, or a biologist who later became an ecologist or a geneticist. The habitat systems engineer will of course still know a lot about other fields of construction engineering, and the ecologist will still know a lot about other fields of biology, but of course less than about the field he specialized in - only, how much less ? I could use the Root Skill / Branch Skill approach of the Ringworld RPG to solve this problem, but I do not really want the additional complexity of that system. On the other hand, I have no better idea how to handle the relation between a basic and an advanced knowledge and skill. Help with this would be most welcome - Thank you. Quote "Mind like parachute, function only when open." (Charlie Chan) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickMiddleton Posted October 15, 2010 Share Posted October 15, 2010 The setting I am currently working on will have a number of characters, mostly engineers and scientists, who learned a basic engineering or science skill and la- ter specialized in an advanced field of that skill. An example could be an engineer who started as a construction engineer and la- ter got advanced training as a habitat systems engineer, or a biologist who later became an ecologist or a geneticist. The habitat systems engineer will of course still know a lot about other fields of construction engineering, and the ecologist will still know a lot about other fields of biology, but of course less than about the field he specialized in - only, how much less ? I'd say the simplest approach is the best - outside their speciality but within their broad field, treat tasks as one step more difficult - so automatic successes become Easy (2 x skill) tests, easy tests become routine, routine tests become hard (1/2 x skill) and hard tests are impossible outside their speciality. So the Habitat Engineering specialist with a skill of 60% would have a chance of answering a routine Construction Engineering test but at half skill (30%). Cheers, Nick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rust Posted October 15, 2010 Author Share Posted October 15, 2010 I'd say the simplest approach is the best - outside their speciality but within their broad field, treat tasks as one step more difficult - so automatic successes become Easy (2 x skill) tests, easy tests become routine, routine tests become hard (1/2 x skill) and hard tests are impossible outside their speciality. So the Habitat Engineering specialist with a skill of 60% would have a chance of answering a routine Construction Engineering test but at half skill (30%). Thank you very much, this is what I was looking for - problem solved. Quote "Mind like parachute, function only when open." (Charlie Chan) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.